Where Fish Falls in Grampians Gariewerd starting from Zumsteins
How – park at the Zumsteins car park and follow the signs
What – great walk along good paths, meandering along Mackenzie River
10 words – escape, peaceful, great track, rocks, water, awesome views and waterfalls
One last escape before lockdown was the early morning dash to Fish Falls, in Gariwerd.
My son raves about this place – including jumping off a very high cliff into the pool below.
I will be checking the water dept this morning and seeing what all the fuss is about.
We start at Zumsteins – an iconic location of many childhoods when it was home to a big mob of quiet kangaroos and was also the site of many camps before the Grampians National Park was formed.
Why the accommodation – which had its roots from Walter Zumstein a WW1 veteran and bee keeper – no longer exists was the cause of much angst in the 1980s and 1990s – but we are not going open that can of worms today.
You can find out a lot about the history of Zumsteins – on a short history walk at the site which includes brilliant old images and stories.
In short:
During the 1930s Walter and his wife built three pise, or rammed earth cottages, plus a tennis court and a large swimming pool fed by the river.
Walter charged 6 pence for a day’s swimming, collecting the fees in person and writing names in chalk on the back of an oven tray.
He planted pines and poplar trees, and built timber bridges across the river. They ran their retreat until the late 1950s.
“He had an amazing affinity with nature, living with the animals and the bush, never trying to change it to his will.” Anne Wilksch
Walter died in 1963, and his ashes were scattered with his beloved birds and trees at Zumsteins.
Once past Zumstein proper, we begin to follow Mackenzie River towards both Fish falls and Mackenzie falls.
Like many water ways in the district this winter, the creek is visibly flowing and the sound of running water sings a rare and beautiful song.
You can imagine families of campers waking to its sound and loving to explore the gentle stream and peaceful bush around here.
It is so quiet, apart from the intermittent calls of the odd kookaburra, cockatoos and other birds.
The plants are also starting to show signs of spring with golden splashes of wattle and beautiful ferns lining parts of the creek.
There is also plenty of moss and fungi, as a result of the damp stream environment and recent rain.
Impacts of dry and fiery times are also evident with faded black trunks on some trees and exposed rocky slopes where vegetation was likely scorched and slipped away in the next big rains.
This is feast or famine country territory which does not come without a few scars.
Right now the track is in feast mode – as are most at popular spots in the Grampians – with no flood or fire damage and an excellent walking surface .
Despit an early start we see about half a dozen other walkers and joggers during our trails.
It is really interesting how rocky this place is – the creek sits at the base of some steep slopes and we notice plenty of big boulders on high.
It is nearly 9am and while the fog has gone, low clouds still hang, hiding the tops of surrounding peaks.
They kind of silently speak to the global fogginess as we all battle COVID and our own immediate uncertainty with an impending lockdown.
Nothing to do but enjoy the moment.
And there is a lot to enjoy as we reach the base of fish falls.
The burnt orange rocks expose their colour and size and the white water tumbles over them into the pool below.
It’s not a dramatic, classic fall but it’s a cracker no less.
We follow some steel steps to another couple of viewing places and enjoy the sights and the sounds.
Looking back on the images it does not look typical Gariwerd and has the remote and mystical cham of deep Tasmanian forest. Makes for an even more exotic pre-lockdown escape if the think about it.
There are more flowers at the falls and some great opportunities to see the big cliff the dare devil son jumps off. I won’t think too much about that one, having watched him recover from the last calamity for the past five months.
We could have continued to Mackenzie Falls, about 1km on, but with pre-lockdown jobs to attend to and having had a great walk we, return to Zumsteins along the same route.
By 11am we are in town to the mayhem of lockdown starting in just 2 hours – thanks Fish Falls for a great escape which made the finals hours of freedom so peaceful and special.
And thanks Walter Zumstein for having the vision and love of nature to preserve and share this beautiful place for some many years in your day.
52 weeks 52 walks 